NBFF 2017 Review: The Exception
April 28th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
Closing out the 18th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival is The Exception, a World War II drama that may as well be called The Good Nazi. Adapted from the novel “The Kaiser’s Last Kiss” by Alan Judd, the film tells the story of a German Nazi Captain who falls in love with a Jewish Dutch spy. The conceit is pulpy enough to fit right in with Paul Verhoeven’s great 2006 WWII thriller Black Book, but there is a major problem in the film’s attempt to be anything more than serviceable at best. Leave it to star Jai Courtney to make a film like this duller than it ought to be.
Gold was a film that went through a bit of a lengthy journey to finally getting its way to production. Pitched as a more modern Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the film once had director Michael Mann attached to film it. Mann eventually left it to film Blackhat. Finally the film was made and released this past January to mixed reviews and a low box office (Though it had limited release to qualify for awards which in Oscar terms, it did nothing). Most praised the continued excellence of Matthew McConaughey but didn’t find a lot else. Said performance was the one where he went horseshoe bald and gained 40 pounds for his role. You’ll be able to see for yourself when the movie comes to Blu-ray on May 2nd. You can pre-order using the Amazon link below if you so wish. 
Hitting local film fests and book reviews hard (that are all on the horizon!), there was only time for four little indie flick sneak peaks this week. A sexy and sensual forbidden love story with serious heat, a harrowing kidnapping terror tale outing that has equal parts strange and sci-fi, a contained catastrophe where everyone in the room is packing and a fish out of water cop caper with a muscle bound man at the helm thrill the themes of the crop below. Check out all four of the Encapsulated Movie Reviews that include Below Her Mouth, Rupture, Free Fire and Black Rose.
Welcome, curious viewers…have you the courage to go 
This spring, bring home a trio of celebrated Broadway favorites on Blu-ray with new releases from home entertainment imprint Shout Broadway. Featuring timeless American standards and some of the world’s biggest stars, titles being released include the award-winning 1999 Royal National Theatre production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical classic, Oklahoma!, starring Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables, The Prestige) and Maureen Lipman (The Pianist); the masterful 1999 London revival of the 1949 Tony® Award-winning Best Musical, Kiss Me, Kate, starring Rachel York and Brent Barrett; and the film adaptation of Tony award-winning Broadway smash Man of La Mancha, starring Peter O’Toole and Sophia Loren. Spotlighting musicals and performances that deserve a place on your shelf, Shout Broadway features some of the greatest stage and screen productions ever captured. From recent hits to all-time favorites and Hollywood gems, Shout Broadway celebrates the best in theater and beyond. 
Still vcan’t get enough of that 2016 Chicago Cubs World Series victory? That first one in over one hundred years or so? You bought the first Blu-ray release and enjoyed the heartfelt little documentary. You were hardcore and picked yourself up the Collector’s Edition with every game on it. Now, you’re going to be the super Cubby loyalist and grab yourself this Ultimate Edition of Game 7. Why not be happy with the one you have in the Collector’s Edition? Well, this comes with a disc that has a long montage of the victory parade as well as lengthy highlights of the other series leading up to the championship as well as the World Series itself. Who this might be the best for is someone who didn’t want the collector’s edition, but wouldn’t mind dabbling in just having this one complete game (the one that mattered). Well, whoever you are, you have your chance at this one on May 9th, so get your order in and have it on day of release. 
Walter Hill’s cult classic rock n’ roll fable Streets of Fire is finally making its way to Blu-ray in the United States after previously only being available in the UK and Germany among other countries that seem to get the cool stuff way before us. But, for the patient (Or not region free), the waiting has paid off as Shout! Factory wound up being the people to introduce it to the format in the United States and slapped it with its still fresh Shout! Select label and a Collector’s Edition at that. With some serious sick new key art on its slip cover, the release comes loaded with two discs to rock out with plenty of classic bonus features as well as a brand new feature length documentary (Yes, that’s 2 feature length making of documentaries on here). You’ll be able to check it out for yourself on May 16th, with the pre-order below, but stay tuned for my review in the meantime. 
Disco is defined as a genre of dance music containing elements of funk, soul, pop, and salsa. I define it as a whole lot of fun. Although being born in 1974 doesn’t constitute you to essentially remember living during the solid gold age of disco quite well, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t a fan of it and still am. Like Paul Stanley of KISS always said there’s just something about that disco bass shaking your rump to onstage or in the case of a nightclub like in Saturday Night Fever, the dance floor. Speaking of Saturday Night Fever (do you like my segue into our topic here?) there’s no bigger fan of the 1977 movie than me. It’s one of my Top 5 all-time favorites. Why? Well for starters Saturday Night Fever has something for everyone. What more can you really ask for in a motion picture? You have teenage angst, promiscuous sex, pregnancy, squabbling parents, drinking, racism, gangs, fashion, glitter, lights, hair, drama, romance, betrayal, dancing, disco balls and best of all that Bee Gees infused soundtrack. Oh yeah! I’m just getting started here too. 
Serial Mom is the John Waters film I’m most familiar with (Though admittedly he’s a director I just haven’t completely familiarized myself with that much). While not doing much at the box office, it became a video store staple in the 1990s and with that, a cult classic. At least, that for the teen/college generation of the 90s for the time. It also seemed to be a movie that was on Cinemax all the time during the 90s as well. That’s how I first came to see the movie the first few times. Now, its getting lots of that cult classic love that only a distributor like Scream Factory can give with their coveted Collector’s Edition label. And, its coming just in time for Mother’s Day. So, pre-order to have yourself a copy when it releases on May 9th! 
Sylvester Stallone’s all action heroes all the time series The Expendables will be complete now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with Lionsgate’s releasing of the first two films come May 2nd. Both are seeing just a picture and audio update on the films themselves as no new bonus features are being added to these new editions. As a matter of fact, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains no supplemental features. But, each release comes with the standard Blu-ray release of the theatrical version of the film and with that comes all of its bonus material (Including a full Comic Con panel and feature length documentary on making the film). Be sure to pre-order yourself a copy today to ensure you have both of these muscle-heavy films on May 2nd. This review will be covering the 2012 sequel that brought in Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris to the world of Barney Ross. 
Troll Hunter made some noise and buzz back in 2010, the second feature from director Andre Ovredal. It wouldn’t be for another six years before his next feature would be in front of us. The Autopsy of Jane Doe garnered acclaim when it showed at Fantastic Fest and continued to garner buzz from the horror world with subsequent screenings and the like. Its now making its way to Blu-ray courtesy of the modern horror pair up that has been thriving for years; Scream Factory and IFC Midnight. Like a “We’ll air ’em and you stock em in stores” kind of relationship they have. The Autopsy of Jane Doe is one of their latest distribution ventures and you’ll be able to have it to own when it drops on a Blu-ray and DVD combo pack May 2nd. 
Sylvester Stallone’s all action heroes all the time series The Expendables will be complete now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray with Lionsgate’s releasing of the first two films come May 2nd. Both are seeing just a picture and audio update on the films themselves as no new bonus features are being added to these new editions. As a matter of fact, the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains no supplemental features. But, each release comes with the standard Blu-ray release of the theatrical version of the film and with that comes all of its bonus material (Including a full Comic Con panel and feature length documentary on making the film). Be sure to pre-order yourself a copy today to ensure you have both of these muscle-heavy films on May 2nd. This review will be covering the first film in the series that landed upon us back in 2010. 
Food, folks and now a film. I’m lovin’ it. Okay, I’ll stop with the silly McDonald’s puns. Like the fast food empire it became, everyone pretty much knows the name Ray Kroc when you hear it. You know him just like you know Colonel Sanders in association with KFC. He’s someone studied in the history, economics and business books. But does anyone know the real stringy details of how he got to where he is? Well, now the director of The Blind Side and writer of The Wrestler want to give you a chance to learn more of Kroc’s rise to restaurant king. Armed with award friendly Michael Keaton, The Founder shows Kroc’s start as a lowly salesman to falling in love with a burger stand and making it national. While it didn’t quite hit the award season hard like the Weinsteins may have wanted, it did get some buzz around release and now will probably find a solid audience here on Blu-ray and streaming when it becomes available April 18th. 
Since anarchy for a good cause seems to be a popular past picture theme for us, we’re keeping the bucking the system cinema going with another lesser known hidden gem – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Today we’re taking on big government all in the name of a little guy who is in need of some respect. Seems a determined young man feels his injured on the job older brother is being ignored by the powers that be and decides to do something about it. Painting, sand blasting, bridge light adjusting and a little graffiti are all part of the raise a little hell plan of the infamous…Turk 182!
